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World juniors: Zach Fucale, Jake Paterson ‘studs’ in Canada’s net

Though the state of Canadian goaltending in general is worrisome, the national junior squad looks strong between the pipes for the upcoming world championship in Sweden.

Zach Fucale, left, and Jake Paterson are "the best two goalies (Team Canada has) had in the world juniors since back in the days when they had (Justin) Pogge and (Carey) Price,” says former Maple Leafs goalie coach Steve McKichan.
(Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

That’s good. Because not only are they Team Canada’s goalies, they’re roommates.

“The first night we watched Sweet Home Alabama. We both enjoyed it,” said Paterson, a Mississauga native who is a Detroit Red Wings prospect. “And he doesn’t snore. So nothing to complain about.”

Fucale, the Memorial Cup-winning goalie of the Halifax Mooseheads, and Paterson, the overworked goalie from the Saginaw Spirit who was on Team Canada last year, are the only two goalies invited to camp.

They knew from the get-go that they were on the team. Now, as the tournament gets underway, one of them — the starter — will emerge as a household name.

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And as the team prepares for its first game on Thursday, Paterson was named that starter.

“Jake and I both have the same goal in mind, that’s winning games for the team,” said Fucale, a prospect in the Montreal Canadiens organization. “Playing our best every night. There’s nothing else to it. If it’s me starting or him starting, we’re going to be playing for the team and winning.”

And they are ready.

“All the things you’ve been through since you were 5, 6 years old all lead up to this,” said Fucale. “All the things you’ve lived can only help you. Having been in the Memorial Cup is similar.

“It’s a couple of weeks. No turning back.”

Rightly or wrongly, goaltenders have largely taken the blame for Canada’s failure to win gold the last four years. Malcom Subban, Mark Visentin, Olivier Roy and Jake Allen are among the goalies who either lost the trust of their coach at some point in the tournament or earned the wrath of the fans.

And while the big picture of Canadian goaltending looks dicey — it appears to be falling behind that of the Americans, Swedes and Finns at the senior level — the small picture of this tournament is another story.

“Those two kids are studs,” said former Maple Leafs goalie coach Steve McKichan, who is not affiliated with the national junior team. “They’re the best two goalies they’ve had in the world juniors since back in the days when they had (Justin) Pogge and (Carey) Price.”

That was 2006 for Pogge, who stole the job, and 2007 for Price, when Canada was on a run of five gold medals in a row.

And it’s high praise from McKichan, who is among those ringing the alarm bells on the state of Canadian goaltending.

McKichan believes goalies at the minor hockey level are coached badly, sometimes not at all. Moreover, he thinks many of the country’s best athletes never take up the position since it’s such a costly one to play.

Those are some of the reasons why many believe Finland and Sweden, and to a lesser extent the Americans, look strong for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

For now, McKichan says, Canada gets by on sheer numbers. So many play the game that it’s inevitable a handful will rise to the top.

“The bigger issue is fixing the collective, fixing the whole body of work at the grassroots level,” said McKichan.

Hockey Canada has addressed the issue to a degree, expanding its Program of Excellence to include invitations for more goalies and goalie coaches at camps across the country.

“Canada has a real strong group of goaltenders,” said Fred Brathwaite, the ex-NHL goalie who is this team’s goalie coach. “This year I’ve gone across Canada and saw a lot of really good goaltenders.

“At this tournament, a goalie might play one or two big games for their teams and we never hear of them again. People will say how great Jimmy is from Finland and we’ll never hear about him again.

“I really like the way Canada is developing our goalies. We have to start at the basics again as well.”

As for how he’ll handle them during the tournament, Brathwaite said he’s not going to meddle; rather, he’ll be more of a cheerleader. That’s fine with coach Brent Sutter.

“I might be old-school, but what you want from a goalie is to stop pucks,” said Sutter. “I don’t care how they do it, I don’t care what type of goalie they are. Bottom line, stop pucks, make saves and give your team a chance to win. That’s all you can ask of goalies.

“You need goalies to make saves and you need goalies to give you a chance to win games and maybe steal you games. It’s not pressure or anything, that’s part of being a goalie. When you get to this level, that’s the way it is.”

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